11 ideas
23531 | Philosophers should interpret the world, by expressing its possibilities [Berardi] |
Full Idea: The philosopher's task is to interpret the world, that is, to capture its tendency and above all to enunciate the possibilities inscribed therein. …The politician's eye does not see the possible, being attracted instead by the probable. | |
From: Franco 'Bifo' Berardi (The Second Coming [2019], How to) | |
A reaction: An inspiring idea! He is rejecting Marx's aim of changing the world, which had 'catastrophic' results. But I love his view of interpretation as spotting tendencies and possibilities. This fits my preferred ontology of dispositions and powers. |
12427 | All of mathematics is properties of the whole numbers [Kronecker] |
Full Idea: All the results of significant mathematical research must ultimately be expressible in the simple forms of properties of whole numbers. | |
From: Leopold Kronecker (works [1885], Vol 3/274), quoted by Philip Kitcher - The Nature of Mathematical Knowledge 09.5 | |
A reaction: I've always liked Kronecker's line, but I'm beginning to realise that his use of the word 'number' is simply out-of-date. Natural numbers have a special status, but not sufficient to support this claim. |
10091 | God made the integers, all the rest is the work of man [Kronecker] |
Full Idea: God made the integers, all the rest is the work of man. | |
From: Leopold Kronecker (works [1885]), quoted by A.George / D.J.Velleman - Philosophies of Mathematics Intro | |
A reaction: This famous remark was first quoted in Kronecker's obituary. A response to Dedekind, it seems. See Idea 10090. Did he really mean that negative numbers were the work of God? We took a long time to spot them. |
23538 | Nothingness only exists in consciousness [Berardi] |
Full Idea: Consciousness is the only place where nothingness exists. | |
From: Franco 'Bifo' Berardi (The Second Coming [2019], II 'Expanding') | |
A reaction: Not sure about this, but an interesting remark from someone with a Hegelian background. We certainly have a concept of nothingness (a mental file of it, even). |
18284 | Particulars can be verified or falsified, but general statements can only be falsified (conclusively) [Popper] |
Full Idea: Whereas particular reality statements are in principle completely verifiable or falsifiable, things are different for general reality statements: they can indeed be conclusively falsified, they can acquire a negative truth value, but not a positive one. | |
From: Karl Popper (Two Problems of Epistemology [1932], p.256), quoted by J. Alberto Coffa - The Semantic Tradition from Kant to Carnap 18 'Laws' | |
A reaction: This sounds like a logician's approach to science, but I prefer to look at coherence, where very little is actually conclusive, and one tinkers with the theory instead. |
23532 | The delusion of free will brings a sense of guilt [Berardi] |
Full Idea: A sense of guilt is linked to the delusion of free will. | |
From: Franco 'Bifo' Berardi (The Second Coming [2019], How to) | |
A reaction: I agree that free will is a delusion, but I'm not sure about this. Clearly if you think you are 'ultimately' responsible for all of your actions this will increase guilt, but belief in free will is compatible with various excuses for actions. |
23537 | American white men trusted the philosophy of winning, and then discovered losing [Berardi] |
Full Idea: American white men trusted the promises of neoliberal selfishness, they trusted the philosophy of winning, then discovered losing. | |
From: Franco 'Bifo' Berardi (The Second Coming [2019], I 'Fascism') | |
A reaction: The most pernicious terminology in the English-speaking world is the labelling of people as 'winners' and 'losers'. We celebrate the one winner, and ignore everyone else. Celebrity, excessive wealth, honourable titles. |
23536 | Community is now a nostalgic memory, which no longer exists [Berardi] |
Full Idea: Community is only a nostalgic memory of a past condition of belonging that exists no longer. Regret, not a living experience. | |
From: Franco 'Bifo' Berardi (The Second Coming [2019], I 'Fascism') | |
A reaction: It is hard to disagree with this. Local heroes in my town make lovely efforts to improve the place (with flowers, sculptures) but most of us don't know who they are. Capitalist competition erodes community. |
23534 | Communism failed to unite western workers with the oppressed of the south [Berardi] |
Full Idea: Communist internationalism was the only attempt to reconcile the workers of the West and the oppressed population of the Global South, and this attempt failed. | |
From: Franco 'Bifo' Berardi (The Second Coming [2019], I 'Hundred') | |
A reaction: It was unfortunate that communism was launched in Russia, which we now see (in 2023) as poisoned by imperialist ambitions, and quite unsuited to international idealism. The Chinese are notably active in Africa. |
23533 | The economy has replaced medieval theocracy at the centre of our society [Berardi] |
Full Idea: The economy has progressively acquired the central place in the system of knowledge and research. Re-enacting the privilege of theocracy in the Middle Ages. | |
From: Franco 'Bifo' Berardi (The Second Coming [2019], I 'Knowledge') | |
A reaction: Illuminating. This is indeed how the economy is treated, centring on Gross National Product (no matter how distributed), and economic league tables. Is it even a quasi-religion? |
23535 | Western workers turn to nationalism, to avert the effects of globalisation [Berardi] |
Full Idea: Western workers are following nationalist agendas in order to avert the effects of globalization, and resorting to nationalist and racist forms of identification. | |
From: Franco 'Bifo' Berardi (The Second Coming [2019], I 'Hundred') | |
A reaction: By 'globalisation' must be meant the impersonal work and exploitation that results from huge ruthless anonymous companies. People barely know who they are working for, so it can't give them an identity. |